The Parkie

NEPNA Yard Sale and Reclaimed Water Service

The March NEPNA Monthly Meeting focused on the potential for expanding reclaimed water service within Northeast Park and the upcoming April NEPNA Yard Sale.

Membership Dues - We want to first thank all of our NEPNA Neighbors that have supported their neighborhood by paying their annual dues. Your $20 goes directly toward making our neighborhood an even better place to call home and we are appreciative of every contribution. Paying by the March 15th deadline helps NEPNA Leadership plan the initiatives and social events for the year – but it’s never too late to do your part. Feel free to pay using PayPal, mail a check to Northeast Park Neighborhood Association, PO Box 3859, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or bring cash or check to the next NEPNA event.

NEPNA April Yard Sale – NEPNA will be hosting our inaugural neighborhood-wide yard sale on April 10th. NEPNA Leadership will advertise the event in local papers and other media and will distribute maps showing the locations of participating NEPNA homes. Inclusion of your home on the tour is FREE to paid NEPNA members and $10 for those that have not paid membership dues (yard sale payment is available via PayPal and by check). There will be much more information on this event coming in the next couple weeks – but for now, start saving your gently used items for the big Spring sale on April 10th.

Community Service Officers - Officers Franklin and Litch provided an update on the evolving configuration of local police deployment. For emergency situations (or when in doubt) call 911. When faced with on-going issues (e.g., general concerns, non-emergency issues) call 727.551.3182. More information to follow as the roles of the community service officers become better defined.

Reclaimed Water Service – City Council Member Jim Kennedy and Water Resources Director George Cassady provided a very informative discussion on the potential of expanding reclaimed water service in Northeast Park. The reclaimed water service has not been expanded in St. Petersburg for over 15 years because the primary focus was to ensure reliable service (i.e., no low-flow days) for the existing over 10,000 customers. City Council passed a resolution in 2009 allowing for expansion of the service at two levels:

• Add-In Users – households generally within one block of existing service – would have regular reclaimed water service availability; and
• Seasonal Users – households farther away from existing service – would have limited access to reclaimed water during periods of high demand (estimated to be one week per year).

For Northeast Park, homes East of Walnut Street would be Add-In Users, while homes West of Walnut would be Seasonal Users. The monthly use fee for both types is $15.

The process for bringing reclaimed water service to your block or group of homes is the same as that for requesting speed humps, sidewalks, etc. A simple majority (50% + 1) of neighbors agree that they would like the service and submit a signed petition to the Water Resources Department (727.893.7261 – website) that will then provide a cost estimate. The general cost is between $2,000 and $5,000 per household depending on distance from existing service. The cost can be financed by the city at an 8% rate for ten years (monthly payments between $25 and $60 per month). Mr. Cassady noted that there is typically a decline in overall utility bill cost for users that convert to reclaimed water if they are currently utilizing potable water for irrigation.

Mr. Cassady will be providing more detailed information over the coming weeks that we will forward to our NEPNA Neighbors. After the information is distributed, we will solicit interest from individual households to determine if there is enough interest – or localized interest to move this initiative further. For now, visit the Water Resources Department website to learn more about the program and talk to your neighbors to gauge their interest. This program is only cost-feasible if a group of neighbors are interested. Expanding service to your home only will be much more expensive than it would be to share the cost with others.

That’s all for now.

- Darren Bishop

Rolling Out NEPNA for 2010

The February meeting kicked off the 2010 year for NEPNA. There’s a lot to cover – so here’s a quick summary to bring everyone up to speed:

NEPNA Website - Our website has been tweaked for 2010. We’ve updated the NEPNA Homepage with new text and a list of our neighborhood awards; Listed our 2010 Get to Know a NEPNA Neighbor families; and Announced the NEPNA Leadership for 2010.

Pay Membership Dues With PayPal – The JOIN NEPNA! tab on our website provides a PayPal option to pay your $20 annual membership dues. Just enter your name and address, check the PayPal payment option, and submit – then you’ll be redirected to the secure PayPal site. Membership dues will be collected through March, so please utilize PayPal or bring checks to the March meeting. Supporting your neighborhood feels really good.

NEPNA Logo – An official NEPNA logo is in the works and will be finalized over the next couple months. The logo will be featured on signs along the proposed North Bay trail and (hopefully) on street signs and other locations to help distinguish Northeast Park.

Membership Drive (Free Pizza) – The Hansen Family came through with the most new neighbor email addresses and won the free pizza from Tour de Pizza. Well done. Free slices coupons will be sent out soon. Thanks to all for spreading the word about NEPNA.

NEPNA 2010 Schedule – Click >HERE< for a copy of the 2010 Meeting Topics and Guest Speakers, NEPNA Special Events, and Get to Know a NEPNA Neighbor schedule.

NEPNA Monthly Meetings - Our monthly meeting topics will be focused on overarching topics like where your local tax money goes and opportunities to deliver reclaimed water to Northeast Park at a fraction of the typical connection cost. We’ve worked hard to line up speakers that are topical and informative – so the meetings will be an hour well spent.

Special Events – We’ve heard from many of our neighbors requesting more social interaction events in the neighborhood. Three new special events have been added to the calendar:

• Neighborhood Yard Sale in April by request of several neighbors.
• The Dog Days of Summer party is back and even better – the first Saturday in June after school ends.
• We’ll celebrate the extension of the North Bay Trail down 1st Street with a 5K (non-timed) fun run / walk and big party.
• And end the NEPNA year with A Taste of Northeast Park featuring our outstanding restaurants from the neighborhood.
  

We look forward to another outstanding year of being the advocates for your neighborhood. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.